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Reports emerging from the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Cote d’Ivoire reveals that foreign scouts have arrived in Abidjan, to monitor the performance of Super Eagles star, Alhassan Yusuf.
Naija News learnt that English Premier League side, West Ham United and RB Leipzig from the Bundesliga have sent their scouts to Abidjan to evaluate the 23-year-old player.
It is anticipated that Yusuf will make a comeback in Nigeria’s Round of 16 match against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, following his absence in the previous two games due to a thigh injury.
This injury was sustained during the Super Eagles’ opening game against Equatorial Guinea.
The midfielder is said to have resumed full team training on Wednesday ahead of Nigeria’s next match in the AFCON.
Yusuf was included in Nigeria’s AFCON 2023 squad following injury to Wilfred Ndidi
With the uncertainty surrounding the future of Nigeria international, Victor Osimhen, at Napoli, the Serie A champions have started shopping for a possible replacement for the striker, The PUNCH reports.
While refusing to give out details on his next move, Osimhen in his latest interview with CBS Sports said he had already made a decision about his future.
“The rumour is going around about me linked with the Premier League,” Osimhen told CBS Sports.
When you’re one of the hottest strikers on the globe, you expect this type of thing, and of course, the Premier League is one of the biggest and best leagues in the whole world.
The Super Eagles have urged President Bola Tinubu to stop watching them on television but to join other Nigerians to cheer them live at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
The team has also assured Nigerians that they would win the title for the fourth time.Speaking in a zoom meeting with Sports Minister, John Enoh, yesterday, the Super Eagles, through their captain, Ahmed Musa, said having the President live in Cote d’Ivoire would add more fillip to their quest to win the Africa Cup of Nations.
Musa said: “We have a message that we want to send through you to Mr President… we don’t want the president to watch our matches on television any more, we want him over here to come and cheer us to victory.
“Finally, we really appreciate your word of encouragement to the team, and we promise to bring the cup back to Nigeria.” Earlier, Senator Enoh had told the players that he had a chance meeting with President Tinubu, who congratulated him for the Super Eagles’ progress so far, adding, however, that the president said he was not too impressed with the way they played in the group stage of the competition. He added that now that the Eagles have qualified for the second round, he hoped they would improve in subsequent games.
“That meeting at Aso Rock told me that Mr President has been watching your games and showing understanding that there is a lot of cautiousness at the group stage. He knows that from the round of 16, you are going to be more impressive,” he said.
Enoh also told the players that Nigerians are rooting for them to win the championship and urged them to continue listening to their coach, Jose Peseiro, who, he said, is ambitious to win the competition.
“I have had cause to tell people that there is nobody as eager to win the AFCON as Peseiro. So, I would like to urge you to listen to everything that he will say to you. Don’t lose focus, forget about the social media. I will even suggest that you do away with your social media… don’t listen to WhatsApp messages.
“Imagine what it would be like to be among the boys that won Nigeria’s fourth Africa Cup of Nations title. That would be a great achievement,” he told them.
[Guardian]
The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has released the best eleven players from the group stage of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The list, which has mostly players from Senegal and Morocco, does not have any Nigerian footballer included.
Equatorial Guinea’s Jesus Owono is the goalkeeper that made the cut, while his team mate Emilio Nsue, the leading scorer with five goals, is up front.
Morocco are represented by four players: midfielders Sofyan Amrabat and Azzedine Ounahi, defenders Achraf Hakimi and Nayef Aguerd.
Defending champions Senegal have three players picked in the list. They are center-back Kalidou Koulibaly, winger Ismaila Sarr and midfielder Lamine Camara.
Angolan attacker Gelson Dala and left-back Arthur Masuaku of the Democratic Republic of Congo complete the line-up.
[DailyPost]
President Bola Tinubu has urged the Super Eagles to improve their performance and do better in the final stages of the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.
Tinubu’s message was conveyed to the national team through the Minister of Sports, John Enoh, who spoke to the players from Abuja via Zoom on Wednesday night.
According to Enoh, the President was not too impressed with the showing of the team during the group stage.
He said, “I had a meeting with the President yesterday. I went to the villa for something else and the President cornered me and said we (Eagles) managed to qualify and I said that’s how we are going to keep going until we win the tournament.
“He said that I should tell the players that he wasn’t too impressed with the last match but he knows that now that they are off the group stages, they are going to impress him more.
“That’s what the President told me and it means that the President is actually watching your matches. Would you believe this? And the President is urging you and also showing an understanding of the game because he knows that there is a lot of caution at the group stage and from the round of 16, you are going to be more impressive.
“I remember that in 2022 in Cameroon, Egypt as a country struggled to qualify but they went ahead to play the finals.”
Responding, team captain, Ahmed Musa, thanked the sports minister but also called on the President to come to see them play live, saying it would serve as a motivation to the players.
The Super Eagles will play the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the last 16 of the tournament on Saturday at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.
[Leadership]
Bright Osayi-Samuel has said it is important for the Super Eagles to start converting their chances at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles have struggled in front of goal in the competition despite the glut of attacking talents at the disposal of head coach, Jose Peseiro.
The three-time champions have scored two goals from open play, with the other coming from a penalty.
They were guilty of wasting several scoring chances in their three group games.
With the competition now at the knockout phase, Osayi-Samuel has harped on the need for the team to improve on their finishing.
“In general I think we played well; we had a clean sheet, so it’s positive in terms of the defence,” the Fenerbahce star said on NFF TV.
“Collectively we had many chances and we know we will get chances in every game with the quality that we have and I think it’s about converting those chances.
“Overall, the game (against Guinea-Bissau) was good, it’s a learning curve now to see what we can improve to do better in our next game against Cameroon.“
The Super Eagles will take on Cameroon in a Round of 16 contest at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, on Saturday night.
[DailyPost]
The hosts of the 2023 AFCON, Ivory Coast have sacked their head coach, Jean-Louis Gasset though they still have a chance of progressing in the competition.
Ivory Coast are on the verge of crashing out of the 2023 AFCON after beating Guinea-Bissau in their opening game, losing 1-0 to the Super Eagles of Nigeria, and then ending their group stage campaign with a 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea.
Hence, Ivory Coast had to sack coach Gasset two days after the 4-0 defeat which was the country’s heaviest defeat on their home turf in their history.
The defeat also marked the first time an AFCON host suffered two defeats in the group stage of the competition in 40 years, a feat that was last recorded by Ivory Coast in 1984.
Ivory Coast are currently the third-placed teams in the tournament that have a chance of qualifying for the round of 16 as one of the four best losers. But that can only be determined after the end of the group stage campaign on Wednesday night, January 25.
Ahead of that, one of Gasset’s assistant coaches Emerse Fae will be the country’s coach for the time being.
A statement from the Ivorian Football Association explained that the FA “terminated” the contracts of 70-year-old Gasset and his assistant coach Ghislain Printant “due to insufficient results.”
Ivorian FA appointed the French tactician, Gasset, a former Bordeaux coach, in May 2022 to replace fellow countryman Patrice Beaumelle who is currently the coach of an Algerian football club MC Alger.
[NaijaNews]
Jean-Louis Gasset has been sacked as coach of 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) hosts Ivory Coast.
The country’s football federation said in a statement on Wednesday that it had “terminated the contracts” of Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Printant “due to insufficient results.”
Gasset’s sacking is coming two days after their AFCON 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea.
The result was the heaviest home defeat in Ivory Coast history.
The Elephants are the first AFCON host to lose two group games since they did so in 1984.
However, Ivory Coast still has faint hopes of progressing to the last 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.
They will be led by Emerse Fae, one of Gasset’s coaches, on an interim basis.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has taken swift action by sacking national team coach Chris Hughton immediately after Ghana’s disappointing exit from the ongoing AFCON in Ivory Coast. The decision comes as a response to the team’s inability to progress beyond the group stage in the past two AFCON tournaments.
In an official statement released on the GFA website, the association announced the termination of Chris Hughton’s contract and the dissolution of the technical team. The GFA expressed its intention to re-strategize for the national team’s future.
“The Ghana Football Association wishes to announce that Chris Hughton has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the senior National team with immediate effect. The Executive Council has also taken a decision to dissolve the technical team of the Black Stars. In the coming days, the Ghana Football Association will provide a roadmap on the future direction of the Black Stars,” the statement read.
Ghana’s performance in the current AFCON has been subpar, with the team failing to secure a victory against Egypt, losing to Cape Verde, and squandering a two-goal lead against Mozambique, ultimately leading to their early exit from the tournament. Chris Hughton initially joined Ghana as the technical director in February 2022 before assuming the head coach role a year later.
Nigeria will play Cameroon in the Round of 16 at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The knockout tie was confirmed on Tuesday evening after defending champions Senegal defeated the Syli Stars 2-0 and Cameroon beat Gambia 3-2.
The result means that Senegal top Group C with nine maximum points, while Cameroon finish second with four points. Guinea also finished with four points, but have an inferior goal difference.
The Super Eagles finished runners-up behind Equatorial Guinea in Group A, following their 1-0 win over Guinea-Bissau.
The last-16 clash between Nigeria and Cameroon will be played on Saturday, January 27 at 9 pm WAT.
More...
Africa’s best footballer of the year, Victor Osimhen has confirmed to the media that he has made his decision on the next step to take amidst his club crises.
He disclosed this during an interview with CBS saying, “I have already made my decision on the next step to do at the end of the season. I already made up my mind. I already have my plan, I know what I want to do, the next step I want to take.”
When questioned about speculations regarding his potential move to Premier League clubs such as Chelsea and Arsenal, the Napoli striker responded by stating that nothing is confirmed at the moment.
He expressed his intention to focus on finishing the season strongly with his current club and indicated that he will make decisions about his future plans afterward.
He said: “I think 60% of the people mention the rumours about me linked with the Premier League”
“Premier League is one of the biggest leagues in the world. I want to finish the season with Napoli strong and then come up with the decision I’ve already made.”
Recall that Victor Osimhen signed a fresh contract with Napoli a month ago, securing his commitment to the club until 2026.
[TheNation]
Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro says he doesn’t have a preference on which country his team should face in the Round of 16 at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON.
The West Africans confirmed their place in the knockout phase courtesy of a 1-0 victory against Guinea-Bissau on Monday.
They are now awaiting the completion of proceedings in Group A to know their opponent.
Peseiro’s side could face either Senegal, Guinea or Cameroon in the next stage of the competition.
The Portuguese however claimed they are ready to take on any team.
“We’re ready for meet any team,” he said in a post-match interview.
“I am not 100% happy because we deserved to finish top of the group.
“We deserved to beat Equatorial Guinea and then we would have had nine points.”
[Dailypost]
After Nigeria’s narrow win against Guinea-Bissau on Monday evening, Super Eagles star Moses Simon said the Nigerian team is ready to face any opposition in the ongoing 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Naija News reports that today’s 1-0 victory against the Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau helped the Super Eagles of Nigeria progress to the Round of 16 of the AFCON.
Despite being wasteful at the match played at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, the Nigerian team still ended the Group stage match at second place behind Equatorial Guinea, thanks to a cross from Simon which was diverted into the net by Opa Sangante in the 36th minute.
Commenting on the Monday evening match, Simon said: “It was a good win for us. To make it from the group was a good one for us.”
“We are not thinking about the opponent we will be facing in the next round. I can’t even say we have any preference for a team we want to face.
“We have to be ready for all opposition if we want to win the title. Any team that we draw in the next round, we are ready for them and all other teams too,” Simon told a press conference in Abidjan.
Jose Peseiro has made four changes to the team to play against Guinea-Bissau in their final Group A encounter on Monday evening.
The Portuguese coach has dropped captain William Troost-Ekong and in comes experienced Kenneth Omeruo who will take up the armband.
Other include Joe Aribo and Bright Osayi-Samuel who are making their first starts, while Moses Simon returns to the starting eleven after being dropped for the 1-0 win over Ivory Coast last week Thursday.
Samuel Chukwueze and Calvin Bassey retain their places while Victor Osimhen continues to lead the line.
The Super Eagles are on four points after two matches and will look to possibly take top spot in the group with victory in a match that begins 6pm Nigerian time.
Super Eagles Starting XI: Nwabali, Bassey, Omeruo, Ajayi, Osayi-Samuel, Aina, Onyeka, Aribo, Moses, Chukwueze, Osimhen